Bihar

Last Updated: November 2009


While Bihar has a varied mix of industries ranging from agro-based (food processing, silk and tea) to leather and non-metallic minerals, the state is one of the largest producers of vegetables in the country and is the leading producer of litchis, honey and makhanas, as well as the fourth-largest producer of mangoes in the country. Sugar plays a prominent role in Bihar‘s economy and the state is the country's sixth-largest tobacco producing state. Recent years have seen significant improvement in Bihar‘s economic performance - the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9 per cent between 1999–2000 and 2008–09 to reach US$ 18.6 billion; growth has been driven mainly by the services sector.

Bihar is aggressive on building industrial infrastructure and has a steady inflow of investments across sectors. As of December 2008, outstanding investments in Bihar stood at US$ 22.8 billion. The state has 263 large and medium industries, a majority of which are located in Patna division, followed by Tirhut. Patna, Tirhut, Muzaffarpur, Barauni, Bhagalpur and Gaya are the main industrial centres in Bihar. Currently, the state has leather, and textile and handloom industries as its prominent sectors, apart from a few engineering units. Petroleum remains a huge contributor to its GSDP as the state has one of the largest public sector refineries, that of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

Key manufacturing players include Bata Industries, Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company and Indian Oil Corporation.

State Presentation (September 2009)

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